For the vast majority of people, a visit to court is a new experience that is often associated with stress. Clients who come to our law firm ask me a question extremely often, how they should properly behave in court. Are there certain rules which must be observed? How should I address the jury and other participants in the courtroom?
In today's article, I will share tips that I myself give to clients when they are apprehensive about their first court appearance. I would already like to point out that the stress in such a situation is absolutely understandable. Everyone feels insecure when faced with something they have not faced before. I hope, however, that reading today's post will allow you to prepare yourself properly for the trial you will be attending and will eliminate unnecessary nerves. I will try to answer the most frequently asked questions and discuss the most important rights and obligations of the parties.
I cordially invite you to read on.
How do you behave in court and before the hearing? How will the court contact you?
All the most important letters pertaining to pending proceedings before the court usually reach the parties by mail. If, in addition, you have appointed a legal representative or a person authorised to receive court letters, court letters are also served on these persons.
What if I do not receive a letter from the court?
I always recommend my clients to collect every letter from the court - regardless of the type of case and the role in which they are acting in the proceedings. As a matter of fact, evading to pick up the court mail only entails negative consequences for us.
Why? If the court mail cannot be delivered to the addressee on two occasions and it is not collected from the postal facility within the specified period, the mail will still be considered delivered.
Can a letter from the court be refused?
If the addressee refuses to accept the letter, service shall be deemed to have been effected. In such a case, the serving party shall return the letter to the court with a note of refusal.
Obligation to notify the court of change of address
If you change your address in the course of pending or initiated proceedings, it is your primary duty to inform the court of this fact. Why is this so important? So that all pleadings go directly to you and you have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with their content. If you fail to do so, the court letter will be left on file with effect of service, which may have negative consequences for you.
What if you do not live in Poland?
If you do not live in Poland - and therefore do not have a place of residence there - you are obliged to appoint a so-called representative for service. He or she must be appointed within 1 month), with his or her name and exact address. A proxy for service may be any natural person having full capacity to perform legal acts, residing in Poland and who has agreed to act as such.
With or without an attorney?
As a participant in the proceedings, you may act before the court in person or through an attorney you have previously appointed. This may be an advocate or a legal adviser. In addition, in certain types of cases you may be represented before the court by, among others:
- a patent attorney - in industrial property matters,
- a person licensed as a restructuring adviser - in restructuring and bankruptcy matters,
- a person in an ongoing commission relationship, if the subject matter of the case falls within the scope of that commission,
- co-participant in the dispute,
- spouse, siblings, ascendants or descendants and persons in an adoption relationship with you (as a party to the proceedings).
In addition, an employee of a legal entity or entrepreneur may also be a proxy of that entity or its superior body.
Attention!
An attorney is obliged, at the time of his or her first procedural action, to submit a written power of attorney to represent him or her in the case, granted to him or her by a party, together with a copy to the opposing party.
How do you behave in court - what is a pre-trial hearing and do you need to be present at it?
Once a statement of defence has been filed, or if no statement of defence has been filed, the court will most likely summon you to a so-called preparatory hearing. This serves to resolve the dispute without the need for further hearings - in particular a hearing - or aims at concluding a settlement. At the preparatory hearing, the presiding judge will establish the subject matter of the dispute with the parties and clarify the positions of the parties, also with regard to the legal aspects of the dispute.
However, when there is a prospect of an amicable resolution of the dispute or when there is a need to clarify the circumstances relevant to the resolution of the case, the court may refer the parties to mediation. In that case, the hearing shall be adjourned until it is completed.
Read also: Mediation before divorce.
Attention!
Remember that if you are summoned by the court to participate in pre-trial proceedings, your presence (as a party) and that of your attorney is mandatory.
What are the risks of not appearing?
- The non-appearance of the claimant or the claimant's representative at the preparatory hearing shall not lead to discontinuance of the proceedings, the trial plan shall be drawn up without the presence of the claimant and the findings of the trial plan shall be binding on the claimant in the further course of the proceedings. If the plaintiff fails to appear at the pre-trial hearing without justification, the court shall discontinue the proceedings, deciding on the costs as if the action had been withdrawn, unless this is opposed by the defendant present at the hearing.
- If the defendant does not appear at the preparatory hearing, the trial plan shall be drawn up without his/her participation. The findings of the trial plan shall be binding on the defendant in the further course of the proceedings.
If the dispute cannot be resolved at the pre-trial hearing, the court will schedule a hearing.
How to behave in court? - or a few words about what a trial looks like
- The first thing the court does when the hearing starts is to check the attendance list of the persons summoned. In addition, if witnesses are involved in the proceedings, their identity will most likely be verified on the basis of their identity cards.
- Witnesses who have appeared for questioning are asked to leave the room and are called when it is their turn. This is because they are questioned individually.
- Then comes the time for the actual hearing to begin. First, the court usually asks the parties to present their positions on the case. As a general rule, the presiding judge also asks whether anything has changed in the case and whether the parties have any new submissions.
- If it is the first hearing, the court also asks the parties whether they see the possibility of reaching an agreement.
- This is followed by an evidentiary hearing, during which the following takes place in turn: the informative hearing of the parties, the examination of witnesses and experts and the actual hearing of the parties to the proceedings themselves.
- At the end of the evidentiary proceedings, the court shall go into deliberation. At the end of the deliberation, the court announces the judgment and gives oral reasons for it.
How to dress?
The court is a serious institution, so when going to a hearing - especially as a party to the proceedings - it is important to dress appropriately, above all clean and smart.
How to address the panel of judges and the other participants in the hearing?
I may not write anything new on this point, but I will advise you on what I usually tell my clients. Four key principles apply here:
- We address the panel of judges as 'Your Honour'.
- When addressing attorneys, we use the phrase in the appropriate form, e.g. "Ms Counsel".
- We stand up when we address the panel of judges and when the court announces the verdict.
- We do not interrupt the speech of others.
How to behave in court? The most important rights and obligations of the parties
To conclude, I think it is worth mentioning that for the trial of the bring your identity cardand before entering the courtroom mute your phone. Unfortunately, I have on more than one occasion been involved in a situation where a hearing was interrupted by the noisy ringing of a phone by one of the participants. Although this may not be the reason for terminating the proceedings, such uncomfortable situations are rather worth avoiding. Of course, seriousness is also important during a hearing. This is not the time for flashy jokes or an opportunity to "lighten the atmosphere".
I could write a lot more on the subject of how to behave in court. I think that today's article turned out to be longer than usual anyway. However, as the topic may be of interest to many people, I am thinking about a second part. Be sure to let me know in the comments what else you would like to know about this topic!
